, 1887-05-01
ABBEY OF kLosrgRNeueeRe.
The Treasure Room and Imperial Apart
ments-Seated ON the Throne.

The Treasure Room and Imperial Apart
m~ents-Seated ON the Throne.
Finally after much waiting and wander
ing up and down along chilly corridors
and great strong ~staircases worn with the
monastic tread of long ages, it occurred
to some of the more commercial menials
that they turn an honest kreutzer. So
n of the more enterprising waylaid a
brother a little more profusely covered
with gold than his fellows, and obtained
permission to show me the objects of
greatest interest. Several servants ar
ranged among themselves to pass me
from hand TO hand, to extract and sub
divide tho greatest amount of fee. OF
what l saw l Will speak briefly of only
the treasure room and imperial apart
mcnts rarely visited. These treasure
rooms of converts, churches and abbeys
contain objects of greater or less sim
ilarity. There are usually among them
the appliances of Catholic church worship
richly adorned with precious stones, the
skull of some saint blazing with jewels.
In this case it was that of st. Leopold,
the founder Of tho abbey. The collection
is worth many millions of forms, the
principal value being in great diamonds,
rubies, emcralds and sapphires, many of
them embroidered on priestly robes,
themselves precious on account of the
sanctity of those who once wore
them. These treasure rooms are jealously
guarded. You enter by q ponderous door
which yields unwillinGly to a key rs
large as that of the gate of a medieval
city. The treasure is ranged round the
room in great cases, each closed with
doors almost as heavy, which, thrown
open, disclose the objects, the most pre-
cious in show cases covered with thick
glass.
l was shown the imperial apartments
by an aged daniel, whose soiled apparel
did not correspond with the enormous
wealth of tho abbey. The novel and
striking feature of her face were two
teeth, which, descending from beneath
the upper lip, projected over the neither
like the tusks of n walrus. They were
two of the pearls that n time had been
stamens 'twixt the pouted petals of her
lips" as u now forgotten American poet
has sung. There was nothing unusually
remarkable in connection with the apart
ment5, except tho view across the Dan
ube through the long series of windows
that lighted them. The polished floors
were more slippery than a skating rink.
and the walls were ornamented with
paper or with frescoes or pictures of in
different merit.
AT the corner, at the farther end of the
long suit, was the throneroom, circular,
lofty and imposing. Its decorations
were of a higher order. The view from
tho windows was superb. I seated my
self on the vacant throne. The witch
smiled approval. Then, quite unex-
pectedly, she emitted a series of shrill
shricks, that came back in an alarming
volley of echoes from walls and ceilings.
One would have thought it was the cave
of a sorceress and all the demons were
bowling in chorus. Before 1 had fairly
recovered from my establishment she
turned toward the windows, and, ex-
tending her skinny hand. executed the
gyratory movement of a dervish as she
pointed through each, and repeated me-
chemically and simply the words: Weld
ling. Leopoldsberg, Florisd orr, Iedlersdorf,
Jedlersee, Stammersdorf, Bisambergan-
genbrum. They were the names of the
hills or towns that were in sight or in the
direction indicated. 1 looked back after
I had parted from her in the corridor.
Her tusks were saving the air as she
dropped the kreutzers / had given heI
slowly from one wrinkled palm into the
other. 1 took a draught of the excellent
Khreterneuberger wine in the abbey Gel.
lars in a n adjoining street, and taking a
last look.at the huge imperial crown OF
shining copper that surmounts the chapel
tower, descended the hill and made my
way as hastily as possible across the broad
grassy plain to the landing of the Dan.
ube boat.-Austria Cor. San Francisco
Chronicle.